Dear Coffee Friends,
We hope you’re well. We have some exciting news to share about what we at Zerno have been working on! Get ready for updates, announcements, and much more.
Production Updates
- First and foremost, we’re thrilled to announce that the first batch of Round 2 orders are ready to start shipping! This version includes all the exciting updates listed on our website, like the blind burrs, ionizer, color-matching chute and (swappable) cable, and more.
- For our launch edition customers, we are rolling out an Upgrade Program! We want everyone to be able to join in on the latest updates and we tried our best to try to make all new features compatible, yet some of the features are unique to the Z1 V2. Therefore we are proud to offer a way for launch edition owners to join us. We will reach out with more details later today.
- We were ambitious in aiming for a 3-month production time and want to set realistic goals. As you know, we take great pride in the amount of detail and craftsmanship that goes into each Z1. This, coupled with our focus on getting our new facility up and running (more on this below) has led us to revise our estimated production timeline to 4 months for the remainder of 2023. We are committed to upholding the highest standards of quality and eagerly embrace the challenges that come with our expansion journey, as it offers us the opportunity to scale our efficiency.
- This means shipping for Round 3 May orders will begin at the end of August through September. Rest assured that we will process them in the order they were received and reach out with more information in the next week.
Scaling Up!
- In other great news, we’re expanding! We are thankful to our friends at mHub, Chicago’s manufacturing incubator which has allowed us to develop our prototypes and provided the tools and machines we needed to launch. In order to continue growing, we have made a decision to move to our own dedicated facility closer to our local manufacturers. Our goal is to improve the production and assembly processes to be able to produce Z1 units at a consistent pace without sacrificing quality.
- Our team is growing! Please join us in welcoming Amy, our new COO who is leading our efforts to improve our infrastructure, grow our amazing team, and provide her strategic recommendations as we continue to grow. This allows Vel to dedicate more time to lead our production efforts and technological improvements. We are also excited to welcome Veronica, our Head of Customer Support. If you’ve emailed us at info@zerno.co you likely have chatted with Veronica who is a fierce advocate for our customers. We are thankful to Veronica for sharing her insights on how we can provide better support, including this overdue communication! Additionally, we’re also hiring and training local assembly specialists.
- Stay tuned for information on our next presale taking place in August! To prepare for this presale, we are making many updates to our website. We have improved our product pages so they are easier to navigate and view the different options side by side. Coming soon, users will be able to enter their shipping and payment information prior to the presale for a faster checkout process. We will share more in the official presale announcement.
Other Announcements:
- We heard from many concerned customers about the potential for a UPS strike at the end of the month. We have expedited our search for a new shipping partner and are happy to announce that we’ll use another partner for all international orders to avoid any potential strike delays. We will continue monitoring domestic orders closely. We are also negotiating with our shipping partner on the ability to prepay customs and duties.
- We’re extremely proud to reveal that after months of hard work, our patent is now pending! Following an open-source philosophy, we intend to give back to the community by open-sourcing some of our technology which will be directly available through our website. Interested in making your own character-inspired end cap? Stay tuned!
Lastly, we want to extend our sincerest gratitude to you – our incredible community – for supporting us throughout this journey.
Stay tuned for more updates, and as always, thank you for being part of the adventure!
Warm regards,
Vel and the Zerno team!
